


From here on

by guety



Category: Number24 (Anime)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Future Fic, M/M, Referenced alcohol consumption, Vomiting, takes place a year after the anime more or less
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25896460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guety/pseuds/guety
Summary: Yasunari's 20th birthday doesn't go the way he planned, but he still gets a special present from Yuu
Relationships: Mashiro Yuu/Tsuru Yasunari
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	From here on

The way Yasunari wanted to celebrate his 20th birthday was by having a date with Yuu - the first in a while, because Yuu has been putting a lot of extra hours on his part-time job - and then going to a quiet, nice place for dinner and maybe try a cocktail for the first time.

What actually ends up happening is that Natsusa-san and the other senpai drag him to an izakaya where, somehow, he always has a full glass of beer in his hand, even if he swears he just emptied it. In the end, Yuu has to carry him to his apartment, Yasunari so drunk he can barely walk straight. 

“I’m so sorry,” he manages to say, kneeling on the toilet floor after having thrown up the contents of his stomach. 

“Why are you apologizing?” Yuu asks in a soft voice, gently rubbing Yasunari’s back. Yasunari is pretty sure that Yuu drank quite a few glasses himself, but somehow he seems entirely sober. 

“I puked in your toilet,”

“Well, it’s good that you let it out!”

“And I got so drunk,”

Yuu laughs. “That’s fine. It’s your birthday after all.”

“You’re an angel, Yuu.” 

“Um, thank you,” Yuu blushes, “you’re so kind, Yasunari-kun. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He stands up and helps Yasunari get on his feet.

“You’re the kind one,” Yasunari slurs, leaning on Yuu’s shoulder, “you’re so kind and nice, I don’t deserve you.” He doesn’t know why he’s saying all that, but somehow he can’t keep the words from spilling out of his mouth. It’s as if the alcohol had broken the filter that normally prevents him from saying his most embarrassing thoughts out loud, and now he has to get everything out.

“That’s not true, you’re a great boyfriend.” Yuu hands him his toothbrush - he keeps one in Yuu’s place since he stays the night so often - with a drop of toothpaste on it. “Here, you’ll feel more refreshed after you brush your teeth.”

The minty flavor of the toothpaste does help him feel a bit better, but the room is still spinning when he finally lays down on Yuu’s bed. 

“I feel awful.”

“Aww, poor Yasunari-kun,” Yuu runs his hand over Yasunari’s hair. It feels really soothing. “I bet you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“I’m so uncool,” he finds himself saying. He hates the pathetic state he’s in right now. This isn’t how he wants Yuu to see him. 

“You’re not,” Yuu replies, kissing his forehead, “you’re the coolest, even now.”

“No, you are cool,” he turns around, hugging Yuu close and shutting his eyes. Maybe that way the room will stop spinning.

“Thank you, Yasunari-kun,” Yuu giggles.

“You’re so cool,” he repeats. He really wants Yuu to understand how cool he is. “And nice. And I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot, Yasunari-kun.”

“I am, because I never tell you how great you are,” he slurs. It’s hard to form proper words right now, he’s sleepy and his mouth doesn’t seem to be moving properly, but there’s something in his brain that’s yelling at him to say all these things that he’s always too embarrassed to say. “I should tell you every day.”

“You do, you tell me without words,” Yuu says softly. “Come on, you should sleep now. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

~~~~

The next day, Yasunari wakes up with a splitting headache and pretty bad nausea, his stomach feeling raw. 

“Good morning, Yasunari-kun,” Yuu calls from the kitchen area.

“‘Morning, what time is it?”

“9:30, how are you feeling?”

“Awful.”

Yuu looks at him with eyes full of compassion. “Do you have an appetite? I got some hangover medicine from the convenience store earlier, but it says you have to take it with food so I added it to the miso soup. There are tamagoyaki and sausages too!”

“Sounds good.” The thought of eating Yuu’s homemade food makes him feel nauseous again, but he’d hate hurting his feelings when he’s being so nice and attentive to him, so he’ll have to make the effort. Plus, he’s feeling so terrible that probably not even Yuu’s worst attempts at cooking can make it worse. “Let me wash up a bit first.” 

After a quick shower that helps him feel more awake, he sits down in front of an arrangement of suspicious-looking typical breakfast dishes and takes a tentative sip of the miso soup. It’s by far the weirdest tasting miso soup he’s had in his life, somehow tasting too sweet and too salty at the same time, and nothing like what miso soup is supposed to taste like at all.

“Is it good?” Yuu asks.

“Yeah,” he lies.

“I’m glad!”

Yuu’s radiant smile makes Yasunari’s chest tighten. He looks so genuinely happy that Yasunari feels unable to even consider not finishing up his breakfast, so he gulfs it down trying to savor the food as little as possible. Strangely enough, despite its bizarre taste, whatever Yuu has put into the miso soup actually works for his nausea, and by the time he’s finished, he feels much better. 

“Thanks for the food,” he says, putting his chopsticks on the table. 

Yuu smiles at him. “No problem! By the way, Yasunari-kun,” he continues, placing a small package on the table between them, “I know your birthday was yesterday, but I thought you’d be too embarrassed if I gave you this in front of everyone, so…”

Yasunari picks up the package. It has a small tag attached to it that reads “happy birthday!”.

“Thanks,” he says heartfeltly, not just for the present but also for Yuu’s consideration. Whatever present he’s gotten him, Yasunari’s sure Natsusa-san would have found a way to tease him because of it, so he really appreciates that Yuu waited to give him the gift in private. “Can I open it?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

Yasunari tries to be careful when opening the package but ends up accidentally ripping the wrapping paper. Inside, he finds a wallet. It’s black, the design classic but stylish, and it seems made of leather, the material smooth under his fingers. Yasunari can tell it wasn’t cheap.

“Yuu, is this why you’ve been working so many hours lately?”

Yuu blushes. “Well, it wasn’t just that, but you said you needed a new one, so…” Yuu fidgets with the hem of his shirt, clearly waiting for Yasunari’s reaction. 

“It’s great, thanks,” he replies with absolute honesty, “it’s just what I wanted.”

“Really? I’m so glad!” Yuu gives him one of those radiant, warm smiles that always make Yasunari feel as if he had butterflies in his stomach. “Um, you should look inside.”

“Inside?” Yasunari opens the wallet, feeling curious. Inside, where one would normally put the bills, he finds a key. 

“It’s a duplicate key for this apartment,” Yuu explains, blushing up to the tip of his ears, “you come here often so I thought, this way you can let yourself in even if I'm not here.”

Yasunari looks at the key, and then at Yuu. He thinks of the chopsticks he was using, which came in a set with the ones Yuu always uses, and of the toothbrush and spare clothes he keeps here. Before Natsusa-san dragged him here a year and a half ago, back when he barely knew Yuu, Yasunari had never spent the night at a friend’s place. And now, he feels as comfortable here as in his own room. He’s gotten so used to Yuu’s presence in his life that he has trouble imagining what his daily life would be like if he wasn’t around. It makes him feel overwhelmed, but not in a bad way.

“Let’s live together,” he finds himself saying. Yuu’s eyes widen. “When we graduate,” he hurries to add, “let’s find a nice place and move in together once we graduate. If you want to.”

Yuu looks at him without saying anything and out of a sudden, he starts crying. 

Oh damn, did Yasunari fuck up? Was that too soon? He really should have timed this better instead of just blurting it out without thinking. “Yuu, I’m,” he starts, not knowing what to say. He just wants Yuu to stop crying.

“I’m sorry,” Yuu apologies, even though he hasn’t done anything wrong, “I’m just so happy,” he sobs, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. 

Yasunari quietly sighs in relief. Alright, these are tears of happiness, that’s not too bad. At least he hasn’t hurt Yuu or anything. “Yuu, don’t cry,” he says softly, caressing Yuu’s cheek. 

“Sorry,” Yuu repeats. Yasunari wants to tell him that he doesn’t have anything to apologize for, but Yuu keeps talking. “It’s just, you’re so cool, and… Are you really fine with me, Yasunari-kun? I’m clumsy and I’m still learning to cook, and I can’t support you well. Instead, you’re the one who’s always helping me.”

Yasunari feels as if his stomach was full of lead, and it has nothing to do with the hangover. Is this what Yuu thinks of himself? “Yuu, that’s not… That has nothing to do with it, of course I’m fine with you,” he stumbles, trying to find the right words. He needs Yuu to understand just how important he is to Yasunari, how much this relationship means to him, and he doesn’t want to put his foot on his mouth and end up saying something hurtful. “Yuu, you’re the best person I know,” he continues, “you’re kind and you work hard, you’re always helping everyone. And you do support me a lot, I play better when you do my taping, and you’ve helped me improve as an athlete…” he trails off, getting more and more embarrassed as he keeps talking. 

“Yasunari-kun…” Yuu looks at him with those big blue eyes full of tears. It makes Yasunari want to wrap him in his arms and make sure he never cries again. 

“So, anyway, I’m very fine with you,” he hurriedly adds, “and you, Yuu? Are you fine with me? I’m not good with words and I never do anything romantic…”

“That’s not true at all, Yasunari kun! I feel very loved by you every day.”

Yasunari can’t help but blush at that, feeling bashful. “And… I try to be reliable but you always end up having to take care of me. Just yesterday you even had to put me to bed.”

Yuu giggles. “You were so drunk!”

“So don’t put yourself down like that,” Yasunari hurries to continue, not wanting to recall the events of last night in too much detail, “you’re not perfect, but I’m not perfect either and that’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Yes!” Yuu rubs his eyes, drying the last tears that were still flowing down his cheeks, and gives him a wide smile. “You’re so kind, Yasunari-kun.”

“I’m not kind,” he mumbles, pulling Yuu closer. “So, what do you say? Do you want to live together after we graduate?”

“Yes!” Yuu replies enthusiastically, “I’ll be in your care from now on too, Yasunari-kun.”

“Yeah, same.”

“Well, let's wash the dishes!” Yuu gets up and starts clearing the table. How does he have that much energy is beyond Yasunari. “Is there something you’d like to do today, Yasunari-kun? Since there’s no practice today, would you like to do some sightseeing?”

“Sure,”

“It’s been almost two years since I moved to Kyoto, but I feel like I haven’t visited any of the famous spots,” Yuu continues, “I guess it’s true that you never explore the areas where you live…”

Yasunari doesn’t say anything, content with just listening to Yuu talk while they wash the dishes - more specifically, Yuu washes and Yasunari dries - and clean up a little. Yasunari likes this domesticity, likes how easy it is to just be around Yuu. Earlier, when he asked Yuu to live with him, it was on an impulse, overwhelmed as he was by Yuu’s gesture of giving him a spare key, but the more that he thinks about it, the more he wants to move in together and create their own home. Whatever the future holds for them, he wants to face it together. He wants to become a man that can make Yuu smile every day.

Next time, it’ll be his turn to give Yuu a birthday present. Yuu’s birthday is still more than nine months away so, hopefully, he’ll be able to find something good enough. Maybe, just maybe, if Yuu’s fine with that, he could save enough to buy a pair of matching rings… 


End file.
